


How Did You Know?

by transtobio



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Dog Cafe, Domestic Fluff, Gen, M/M, Pet Café
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-13 23:58:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13581702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/transtobio/pseuds/transtobio
Summary: It was a perfectly average day until Inuoka dragged him to a dog cafe.





	How Did You Know?

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Chris (inuokasoap) on tumblr for the hqvalentineexchange! (tell me your ao3 and I'll gift it here too) I haven't written these characters before so it was pretty fun, I hope I did them justice!
> 
> I did some research on dog cafes but was it limited to the ones in the U.S. so forgive me if some details are off. Also I didn't include the boring stuff like legal aspects (most make you sign a waiver and book an appointment)

 

Shibayama often regretted being an overachiever. He had taken college prep classes in high school while playing volleyball (in fact, he had been a starter), tried to keep an active social life, and also managed to start dating his best friend and other half, Inuoka. Little had changed since then except volleyball became less of a priority, while school got more and more demanding. He wasn't sure how he did it, let alone how he _kept_ doing it.

One thing Shibayama was sure of, however, was that he hated group work. Shibayama was a relatively passive person by nature, but he two steps away from physically fighting his group mates.  Their assignment was due in a week, and no one except him had done any work. They hadn't even  _met_ in person, so Shibayama was sure work he had done would get veto'ed by the others in favor of an easier idea.

Shibayama was so. Tired.

He was about to call it an early night when he heard someone the door. "You still busy?"

"Hmm, no," Shibayama pushed his papers away. "What's up?"

Inuoka poked his head into the room and smiled cheerfully. "I'm going to the dog cafe down the street, wanna go?"

"Yeah!" Anything to get away from schoolwork.

Several minutes later, Shibayama found himself walking next to Inuoka, who seemed to be skipping. Inuoka _loved_ dogs, he even loved them more than cats (which disappointed everyone in high school.) He always talked about getting a dog, especially after he and Shibayama started living together, but things never seemed to line up. That's probably why he liked visiting a nearby dog cafe every chance he got, but he had yet to bring Shibayama along.

Shibayama wondered if there was some significance to this, but shrugged the idea off. Inuoka understood that Shibayama prioritized school, so that's probably why he had never invited him.

That must be it.

"There's an Akita dog there that looks just like Hachiko!" Inuoka said, which broke Shibayama out of his thoughts. "She's really playful, but last time she fell asleep in my lap."

Shibayama smiled, and wished he had been there. "I bet that was cute."

 "It was! Maybe she'll do it again," Inuoka hummed. "Oh, we're here!"

Shibayama had passed by this place countless times, but he never seemed noticed it. It looked like a simple, cozy place, but Shibayama noticed the name: Pawsitive Cafe. _Clearly_

Inuoka held open the door for Shibayama, who entered feeling slightly nervous. He had never been to a pet cafe before, how much was different from a regular cafe? How many dogs were there? Could they pet dogs while they ate?

"Hi there!" An unfamiliar voice said, and Shibayama looked to see the barista wave at them. "Inuoka-san, did you bring a friend?"

Inuoka, who had closed the door behind him and Shibayama, smiled. "Yeah! This is my boyfriend Shibayama."

Shibayama felt his ears heat up, and hid a smile. He and Inuoka had been dating for years, but those words never failed to make him happy.

The barista smiled at the two of them, and  Shibayama noticed the place was strangely empty. "What can I get you guys?"

"I'll have an iced coffee!"

"Me too," Shibayama echoed, and realized that he didn't see any dogs.

... This _was_ a dog cafe right?

Shibayama sat at a table with Inuoka, who conversed with the barista as she made them drinks. First no customers, now no dogs? What was Shibayama missing?

Inuoka noticed the look on Shibayama's face, and he leaned over to whisper, "The dogs are in another room."

"Why?" Shibayama asked, also quiet.

"I think its a health hazard," Inuoka replied, and shrugged. "I never really asked."

"Oh," Now that Shibayama thought about it, that made sense. Dogs were less discreet than cats when they needed to, _ahem_ , do their business.

"Here you go!" Shibayama saw a cup slide in front of him, and looked up to see the barista wink before she headed back to her station.

Shibayama took one sip of his coffee and wondered why Inuoka had never brought him here before. This drink was _amazing_.

Inuoka, meanwhile, drank his his like he had no care in the world, like it wasn't the most delicious thing in existence. Just how often did he come here?

Shibayama was jostled out of his thoughts when he heard the cafe's door open, and the cashier greeted the elderly couple that entered. She seemed as familiar with them as she had been with Inuoka, which made sense. It would figure that a niche cafe such as this would rely on regulars to remain open. This brought Shibayama back to his earlier thought: Just _how_ many times had Inuoka been here?

"Your coffee's melting," Inuoka pointed out, and Shibayama realized that the other man was staring at him

Shibayama responded by taking a large drink from his cup, which made Inuoka laugh suddenly. The taller boy looked so at home here, and Shibayama was happy for him, especially since he knew how stressed Inuoka usually was. Playing volleyball professionally was tough on its own, but attending classes and holding down a job made it even worse.

"When you're done we can go see the dogs," Inuoka said, and glanced at a door near the counter. "Then you can meet Michi! She's the dog that looks like Hachiko."

Shibayama nodded, nearly finished with his drink. He noticed that Inuoka was already done, and wondered just how long he had been caught up in his own thoughts.

It took him no time at all to finish, and as soon as he did Inuoka shot up and made his way to the door he had just stared at. "Come on!"

Shibayama heard the elderly couple giggle, and smiled. Inuoka's excitable nature was embarrassing to others, but he loved it.

Shibayama put his now-empty cup on the counter and followed Inuoka into the other room. There he was greeted by the sight of three dogs running around most of the  room, save for a small, gated portion in front of the door. Shibayama also saw man, who appeared to be distracted by another dog in the corner.

"Michi, sit," The man said, and scratched the dog's ear when it did so. "Good girl!"

"Hi Saito-san!" Inuoka said, which startled the other person. "I brought a friend to see Michi."

"Oh! Come in, Inuoka-san," The man opened the gate to the rest of the room and waited for them to come in before closing it. "Michi just had her walk, so she might be too tired to play."

"That's fine," Inuoka said, and grabbed Shibayama's hand suddenly.

Inuoka led Shibayama to the dog the man had just been playing with, which appeared to be an Akita. Shibayama approached the dog with trepidation. Akitas didn't like strangers, right?

He noticed the dog's tail wagging at a hundred miles an hour, and Shibayama only had a moment before he felt something tackle him. He was thankful the dog wasn't fully grown, otherwise he'd have been sent to the floor.

"Um, hi," Shibayama said to the Akita, and let her sniff his hand.

He felt the dog lick him almost instantly, and Inuoka giggled. "I think she likes you!"

Shibayama laughed as well, and he saw Inuoka sit on the ground next to the dog. "This is Michi, she's the dog I was talking about earlier. Isn't she sweet?"

"She's really nice," Shibayama answered, and took a seat next to Inuoka.

Michi, meanwhile, got bored of Shibayama and went to Inuoka instead. He scratched behind her ear, more out of habit than actual conscious thought. Shibayama noticed the other man occupying herself with the other three dogs, who paid no heed to Shibayama and Inuoka.

"Aren't Akita's afraid of strangers?" Shibayama asked.

"Usually, but she's a mix so she's more friendly," Inuoka looked at him and smiled. "I'm really glad she likes you."

"Me too." Shibayama rubbed Michi's belly and watched her tail thump against the floor.

He was glad Inuoka brought him here.

Shibayama watched Inuoka play with Michi... or rather, he watched Inuoka wave a ball in front of her before giving up. Michi really _was_ tired. She took up the entirety of Inuoka's lap as she rested, and Inuoka simply pet her. Shibayama watched her tail gently tap against the other man's leg, and smiled.

He took the chance to scratch her ears, and heard the dog huff in satisfaction. Michi's eyes were already closed, but she seemed to really relax under the two's combined petting. Shibayama felt his heart melt, and suddenly wished the two of them had a dog so he could see this all the time.

"She must really be tired," Inuoka said after a second. "Michi usually likes to play for a bit."

Shibayama hummed in response, and was tempted to take out his phone to take a picture of the two. He was about to when he heard Inuoka shift, and saw him roll a ball toward the other three dogs, who got excited and chased it around the room. He looked up and smiled at Shibayama, grinned back.

"Sorry to interrupt you two," a voice was heard, and Shibayama saw the other man standing by the room's gate. "Its almost closing time, which means we need to start cleaning up."

"It's fine!" Inuoka did his best to move without waking Michi, and she made a low grumbling noise before settling on the floor. "Sorry we came so late."

"That's okay," The employee smiled at the two of them as they exited the room. "Feel free to come back tomorrow."

"We will!" Inuoka called, and grabbed Shibayama's hand before they exited the shop.

The two of them walked in silence for a while, and Inuoka kept a firm grip on the other's hand. Shibayama stared at this, then at Inuoka; He only liked to hold hands when he was nervous, which meant something was wrong. Shibayama was tempted to ask him, but he knew that Inuoka would tell him soon. Besides, holding hands was nice.

Shibayama only had to wait a few more minutes before Inuoka's steps slowed, and he stopped in front of their apartment building. 

"Did you like the cafe?" Inuoka asked. 

He tried to sound nonchallant, but Shibayama noticed his tense face and felt his hand tighten around Shibayama's.

"I liked it," Shibayama said, and felt Inuoka's grip relax.

"Did you like the dogs?"

"I did."

"Do you think- I was wondering if we could, you know, adopt a dog from there," Inuoka mumbled the last bit of the sentence, and let go of Shibayama's hand to stuff his own in his pockets.

Shibayama couldn't help it; he smiled. This whole trip was just so that Inuoka could bring up getting a dog? Even though they had already talked about it? It was so like Inuoka that Shibayama wondered how he hadn't found out earlier

"Sure. You want to adopt Michi, right?" Shibayama asked, and he watched Inuoka's face light up.

"How did you know?"

"She was the only dog we played with," Shibayama answered, smile still on his face. "Plus, I could tell you really like her."

Inuoka's face turned red, and he seemed suddenly bashful. "Was it that obvious?"

Shibayama nodded, and suddenly thought of something. "You sure she won't be too tough to handle?"

"Well, she's a mix and she already knows us so I think it'll be okay," Inuoka said, and he rubbed the back of his head. "Plus, I've been reading books on pet care, so..."

Shibayama knew that they _really_ should talk about it more before deciding, but he remembered how Inuoka looked when handling Michi at the cafe, saw the look on his face, and made up his mind. "Alright."

A second later Shibayama was crushed against Inuoka's chest, and he realized the other was hugging him. His face heated up as he remembered that they were still outside, but thankfully Inuoka pulled away a moment later. "Let's go to the cafe again tomorrow! I know we have to fill out some forms, and they're going to want to see our place, but..."

Shibayama couldn't stop smiling. He smiled while Inuoka spoke, and even afterwards when they went up to their apartment and he showed him the pet handling books he had bought. This may have come out of no where, but Shibayama knew things would be okay.

The two of them could handle this.

**Author's Note:**

> idk why they're serving iced coffee at a cafe, that's just my favorite thing to get at Starbucks
> 
> [ Fic requests are open on my tumblr! ](http://transtobio.tumblr.com/ask) Also feel free to critique my work, so long as its constructive criticism and not just criticism.


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